Case Study : Challenge Cost Management

3. Explain two methods that can be used in order to identify realistic estimations when developing a budget. [2.2]

Project A: This project is new to your company. You do not feel confident in estimating the project costs using internal resources. There are other companies that have done this type of work. Yet you still want the most accurate estimates possible.

3. Explain two methods that can be used in order to identify realistic estimations when developing a budget. [2.2]

Planning is a function that is employed by every organization in projecting the future outcome of the firm. Successful firms achieve their goals through the use of different types of budgets. These budgets include, production budget, sales budget, labor budget and expenses budget. These budgets also show the targets that should be achieved by the firm within the budgeted time plan.

592 Week 1 DQ 1 WBS Construction PROJ 592 Week 1 DQ 2 Project Cost Estimates and Assumptions PROJ 592 Week 2 DQ 1 Cost Components PROJ 592 Week 2 DQ 2 Estimating Processes PROJ 592 Week 3 DQ 1 Project Schedules PROJ 592 Week 3 DQ 2 Sensitivity Analysis PROJ 592 Week 4 DQ 1 Resource Allocation and Leveling PROJ 592 Week 4 DQ 2 Advanced Schedule Techniques PROJ 592 Week 5 DQ 1 Earned Value Calculation PROJ 592 Week 5 DQ 2 Project Monitoring and Control & EV PROJ 592 Week 6 DQ 1 Forecasting Project Completion Cost PROJ 592 Week 6 DQ 2 Project Control PROJ 592

The paper is divided into three sections, the first of which will establish a timeline of events. This project background will serve as a case study for the analysis in the following section that will be structured such that each of the previously mentioned facets will be independently analyzed and contrasted with project management principles. Finally the paper will conclude with a summary of the analysis and recommendations based on

1.2 The basis of an estimation is made up of three main categories. These are Labour, Materials and Plant and together, they define the approximated final price of the project. However, these do not include extras such as overheads, profits or preliminaries.

Since, the company that I work for is a federally funded facility it looks differently than a company that would be creating a budget on estimates of sales revenue. Most companies start here because this determines how much advertising you think you need to achieve your predicted sales revenue, how much product you need to make the sales, and how many workers you will need to make the

In the current business environment, the demand for project managers is ever growing. In short, project management is a provisional project constrained by time, cost and scope (A guide to the project management body of knowledge, 2013). Between the immense organization, optimization, and communication assets skilled project management brings to a project, it is easy to see why project management is a booming field of study. Furthermore, project management can be both financially and personally rewarding when long term milestones and goals come to fruition.

Cost and Value management is becoming a large part of companies competing in today’s market. According to the text, “projects and their effective management can provide organizations with a significant competitive edge through cost reduction, enhanced responsiveness, and overall value to customers.” (Venkataraman & Pinto, 2008, p. 1). In this paper we are going to focus on some of the techniques and how they can either help or hinder a project. Through information and examples we will explore the importance of work packages and the work breakdown structure (WBS), establishing a cost and schedule performance

Projects are used today as a way of achieving a variety of outcomes in local or international locations for new constructions, new product development, product improvement, process design, process improvement, utility installation, theory and technology development, and many more. Bringing a project to a successful conclusion requires the integration of numerous management functions like controlling, directing, team building, communication and others. It also requires cost and schedule management, technical and risk management, conflict and stakeholder 's management, and life cycle management.

A successful project management will include time control and cost planning. Accompany with these two important features, and then bring out the best quality project.

ABI is using a top-down process in this project, meaning that determination of the final budget comes almost strictly from a compilation of experiences and judgments of the top and mid-level managers in the company. The higher-level managers break down costs into major categories, pass down their cost estimates to the next lowest level, lower-level managers break the major categories down into subcategories and so on until the estimation process reaches the lowest level of the company. By the end, each level knows the specific amount of money that it is allotted to complete the project tasks required at that level. Because the project is so extensive in price and risk, it would have been smarter for them use a bottom-up process which would have involved the employees who would actually be part of the work team so that management could get a more accurate estimate of the time and money that would be required to complete the project.

7.0 Budget Estimate and Financial AnalysisA preliminary estimate of the cost for the entire project is $200,000. This includes the hire of a temporary project manager, and the hours used by current employees to work on the project. Project savings comes in the form of reduced health insurance cost due to a healthier workforce that makes fewer claims.

* Many IT professionals think that preparing cost estimates is a job for accountants when in fact, it is a very demanding and important skill that project managers need